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Gunman in Phoenix Kills One and Flees

A woman was taken to a paramedic truck from an office building where a shooter opened fire in north central Phoenix on Wednesday.Credit
Michael Schennum/The Republic, via Associated Press

PHOENIX — A gunman opened fire at an office complex here on Wednesday, killing one man and injuring two others before speeding away, the police said. Three other people were hospitalized for stress brought on by the shooting.

A police spokesman identified the gunman as Arthur Harmon, 70.

The gunman opened fire just outside the lobby of the office complex after a mediation session at a law firm in the building over a lawsuit he had filed against a call center based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the authorities said. The call center’s chief executive, Steven Singer, 48, who was at the session, was killed.

The shooting took place around 10:30 a.m. in the lobby of a three-story commercial building on North 16th Street, in the heart of the city. The police spokesman, Sgt. Tommy Thompson, said it was “not random.” The gunman “came here for a reason,” he said from the scene.

Among the injured was Mark Hummels, a lawyer at Osborne Maledon, who was representing Mr. Singer, according to a statement released by the firm. He was shot in the neck and lower back and remained in serious condition after surgery at John C. Lincoln Hospital, the statement said.

Don Jacksa, a software engineer who works in the building, said he and his co-workers “locked the doors and waited.” Jeremiah Barnes, a driver for a rehabilitation clinic, said he was on his way out to lunch when he spotted a white car driving erratically in reverse out of the parking lot, barely missing incoming cars.

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A middle school near the scene of the shooting was placed on lockdown as SWAT teams scoured the office complex, looking for the gunman.

In the afternoon, officers entered Mr. Harmon’s home, some eight miles north of the office complex, but emerged several minutes later, empty-handed. As of early Wednesday evening, he remained at large. Sergeant Thompson said he should be considered “armed and dangerous.”

One neighbor said Mr. Harmon was a retired salesman, reserved yet friendly to those he knew. Another neighbor said he liked to sit in his front yard, drinking beer, and to work on his car.

Timothy Williams contributed reporting from New York.

A version of this article appears in print on January 31, 2013, on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Gunman In Phoenix Kills One And Flees. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe